We already know that squabbling Gilmore Girls characters Luke and Lorelai—who ended the series with a kiss—are still together in the new Netflix revival. (Thanks for easing our minds, promo photos!) So the big question still plaguing some fans of the original show centers on young Rory Gilmore, who made a series of increasingly bad romantic decisions over the course of seven years. And now the actor who played Rory’s first love, Jared Padalecki, is dropping some tantalizing clues.

We already knew that Rory would probably not end up with Padalecki’s Dean. Common sense and a slip of the tongue from the actor who played Rory’s fictional father, David Sutcliffe, made that pretty clear. And in a new interview, Padalecki confirmed to US Weekly that, thanks to his hectic Supernatural schedule, he only spent one day on the Stars Hollow set. (Fun fact: Supernatural premiered when Gilmore Girls was in its fifth season and, 11 years later, the popular CW show is still going.)

Padalecki said that his one scene is set in Dean’s old work place, Doose’s Market. It gave Padalecki a “good amount of stuff” to do and “explained a lot” about what his character had been up to. The scene, he claims, gives Dean some closure, which is a relief. The last time Padalecki appeared on the show was a really sad and bitter Season 5 scene in which the freshly jilted Dean warned Luke that men like them would never be good enough for the Gilmore women. It sounds like poor Dean gets a happier ending here. Something, I imagine, akin to Carrie’s final Season 6 encounter with John Corbett’s Aidan on Sex in the City. (We all pretend Sex and the City 2 didn’t happen, right?)

“There will always be some fans who are unhappy, but I think they’ll be pleased with it,” Padalecki says, with the canny insight of an actor who has spent over a decade on a hugely popular show. But, he adds, “[creator] Amy [Sherman-Palladino] didn’t come back to fuck it up—she came back to do it right, and she did it right.”

That one brief Dean scene might not have been all series creator Sherman-Palladino had in mind. Back in February, she told TVLine that she had to curb some of her loftier ambitions for the revival. “We’ve had certain storylines we had to [tweak] because, apparently, there are still budgetary restrictions in Hollywood. I don’t understand that. I sort of feel like, ‘This is the story I want to tell, and somebody should just pay for it.’ Apparently, it doesn’t work like that. Very irritating. So, certain storylines—one of which involved one of the boys—had been taken out of our hands.” Of the actors playing Rory’s three main love interests, Padalecki—Supernatural star that he is—would be the one likely to command the most money.

But the other two guys, played by Matt Czuchry and Milo Ventimiglia, will also be on the scene to potentially vie for Rory’s affection. Rory, Sherman-Palladino assures us, “is single in the sense that she’s not married. But she’s dating like any young woman with that face would be.”

Of course, all these questions about the many beaus of Rory Gilmore ignore the real love story at the center of the beloved show. This is, at the end of the day, a series that above all else celebrates the bond between mother and daughter. As long as Rory and Lorelai are together, the men will always take a backseat.

What Have the Characters of Gilmore Girls Been Up To Since We Last Saw Them?

Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham)

In eight years, Lorelai Gilmore finally became an adult. With Rory out of the house, it’s possible that Lorelai is happily settled down in Stars Hollow with Luke, maintaining Friday-night dinners with Emily and Richard, and running Dragonfly Inn . . . Who am I kidding? With half of the Dragonfly still in Sookie’s name, Lorelai most likely took off with little notice on a series of quirky adventures with Paul Anka, checking in on home from time to time. She’ll only return for good in order to run the Inn when Sookie leaves Stars Hollow to star in a series of comedy blockbusters.

Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel)

Last we saw Rory Gilmore, she was off to Iowa to report on Obama’s presidential campaign. Eight years later, she’s most likely BuzzFeed’s chief political correspondent, but making way more money than the real one and living in a gorgeous SoHo apartment. She’s basically become a demure Carrie Bradshaw. Prepare for a happier Rory than we’ve ever seen before. And surprise! She’s dating Logan. Upon hearing from Emily that Richard has passed away, she decides to take a short trip home. She’ll try to tell Logan not to return to Stars Hollow with her, because she’ll only be gone for a week tops. But by then he’s more than used to her penchant for meet-ups with wayward exes. “Yeah, I think I’ll join you,” he’ll say.

Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop)

Mourning the death of her husband (don’t hate me, it’s been confirmed as a major plotline), Emily is icy as ever. Ice is a specialty for Kelly Bishop, who spent some time playing Fanny Flowers in another one of creator Amy Sherman-Palladino productions, Bunheads. When both of her Gilmore girls return, there will be a lot of fences in need of mending and Friday dinners to be had. Luckily Bishop’s bringing a souvenir from her time on the ballet series: Sutton Foster.

Luke Danes (Scott Patterson)

Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry)

In a move pulled straight out of the Veronica Mars revival, at some point during the missing eight years Logan returned to New York and managed to rekindle his relationship with Rory. He works in advertising, but is conveniently able to follow where Rory leads. Currently, he’s only confirmed on IMDB for the first episode of the revival, but there’s still hope for a Rogan endgame. #OTP

Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia)

Things are looking up for Jess Mariano, who’s confirmed for the most episodes out of all of Rory’s exes. Jess has a knack for throwing a wrench in Rory’s relationship with Logan, and it looks like times have not changed. Milo Ventimiglia really took off following the series, starting strong with leading-man roles in American Dream and Heroes. Though he’s been working consistently since 2006, Ventimiglia hasn’t quite kept up his heartthrob status. It looks like he’s ready to reclaim his title.

Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki)

Ah, Dean Forester. Arguably, Dean has gone through the largest transformation since leaving Stars Hollow, since Padelecki has bulked up as a star of Supernatural. Sherman-Palladino will definitely have some explaining to do, but don’t worry, the answer has been in front of us the whole time. Dean Forester has secretly always been another character, Sam Winchester. Living in Stars Hollow for part of his teen years while his family followed a lead on the demon that killed his mom, he took on his brother, Dean’s, name and attempted to live a normal life. This explains his character’s sudden absences, obsession with a “girl who reads,” and that killer leather jacket. Trust me, this tracks . . . as long as you ignore the fact that he had a little sister and got married . . . Because, really, is there any other cause for someone to bulk up like that? Give me one reason. Military? Not with that hair. Crossfit trainer? Maybe.

Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham)

In eight years, Lorelai Gilmore finally became an adult. With Rory out of the house, it’s possible that Lorelai is happily settled down in Stars Hollow with Luke, maintaining Friday-night dinners with Emily and Richard, and running Dragonfly Inn . . . Who am I kidding? With half of the Dragonfly still in Sookie’s name, Lorelai most likely took off with little notice on a series of quirky adventures with Paul Anka, checking in on home from time to time. She’ll only return for good in order to run the Inn when Sookie leaves Stars Hollow to star in a series of comedy blockbusters.

Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel)

Last we saw Rory Gilmore, she was off to Iowa to report on Obama’s presidential campaign. Eight years later, she’s most likely BuzzFeed’s chief political correspondent, but making way more money than the real one and living in a gorgeous SoHo apartment. She’s basically become a demure Carrie Bradshaw. Prepare for a happier Rory than we’ve ever seen before. And surprise! She’s dating Logan. Upon hearing from Emily that Richard has passed away, she decides to take a short trip home. She’ll try to tell Logan not to return to Stars Hollow with her, because she’ll only be gone for a week tops. But by then he’s more than used to her penchant for meet-ups with wayward exes. “Yeah, I think I’ll join you,” he’ll say.

Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop)

Mourning the death of her husband (don’t hate me, it’s been confirmed as a major plotline), Emily is icy as ever. Ice is a specialty for Kelly Bishop, who spent some time playing Fanny Flowers in another one of creator Amy Sherman-Palladino productions, Bunheads. When both of her Gilmore girls return, there will be a lot of fences in need of mending and Friday dinners to be had. Luckily Bishop’s bringing a souvenir from her time on the ballet series: Sutton Foster.

Luke Danes (Scott Patterson)

Lane Kim (Keiko Agena)

Lane, Zack, and her sons lived happily ever. Following plenty of time on maternity leave, she, Zack, and Brian re-formed their band and spent a lot of time traveling across the country. The entire family has purple hair and it’s adorable. Mrs. Kim joined them on tour until the boys were old enough for elementary school, when she moved them all back to Connecticut. The band now sticks mostly to the Northeast and plays a lot of gigs at Toad’s Place.

Michel Gerard (Yanic Truesdale)

Paris Geller (Liza Weil)

Although dreaming of being a doctor, Paris dropped a lot of weight and burnt out during her third year of medical school. Envying the success of her longtime frenemy Rory, Paris made it her mission to surpass her . . . again. Somehow, possibly using the sleuthing skills she’s “mastered” on How to Get Away with Murder, Paris may weasel her way into Rory’s company, becoming competition once again. Let the hijinks ensue.

Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry)

In a move pulled straight out of the Veronica Mars revival, at some point during the missing eight years Logan returned to New York and managed to rekindle his relationship with Rory. He works in advertising, but is conveniently able to follow where Rory leads. Currently, he’s only confirmed on IMDB for the first episode of the revival, but there’s still hope for a Rogan endgame. #OTP

Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia)

Things are looking up for Jess Mariano, who’s confirmed for the most episodes out of all of Rory’s exes. Jess has a knack for throwing a wrench in Rory’s relationship with Logan, and it looks like times have not changed. Milo Ventimiglia really took off following the series, starting strong with leading-man roles in American Dream and Heroes. Though he’s been working consistently since 2006, Ventimiglia hasn’t quite kept up his heartthrob status. It looks like he’s ready to reclaim his title.

Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki)

Ah, Dean Forester. Arguably, Dean has gone through the largest transformation since leaving Stars Hollow, since Padelecki has bulked up as a star of Supernatural. Sherman-Palladino will definitely have some explaining to do, but don’t worry, the answer has been in front of us the whole time. Dean Forester has secretly always been another character, Sam Winchester. Living in Stars Hollow for part of his teen years while his family followed a lead on the demon that killed his mom, he took on his brother, Dean’s, name and attempted to live a normal life. This explains his character’s sudden absences, obsession with a “girl who reads,” and that killer leather jacket. Trust me, this tracks . . . as long as you ignore the fact that he had a little sister and got married . . . Because, really, is there any other cause for someone to bulk up like that? Give me one reason. Military? Not with that hair. Crossfit trainer? Maybe.